Satisfied, and Empty Inside
by Morralls
Summary: Bruce lost his future when the gamma bomb exploded, bringing out the monster inside him. It was something he had resigned himself to, and he had moved on. Or at least, he thought he had, but it seemed that fate had other plans for him. All the same, if there was on thing his father had taught him, it was that Banners didn't make good dads. T for mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This fic is based off of something Joss Whedon said in the commentary of _The_ _Avengers, _based around the scene where Natasha goes to Calcutta to get Bruce. Joss Whedon spotted the crib as a part of set design, and realized that if Bruce messed with it while he said the line "I don't every time get what I want" it would mean so much more. Which, naturally, got me thinking about all the new and delicious ways that I can play with the characters' heads. For your consideration, Daddy!Bruce. Title and lyrics come from Breaking Benjamin's song 'So Cold.'**

_Crowded streets are cleared away one by one.  
__Hollow heroes separate as they run._

It hadn't been a 'world ending' emergency that brought the Avengers out. It had been a collection of drones based off of Vanko's model by some pissed off tech nerd in the ever-growing AIM, who had showed their true colors at last: The drones had the Hydra mark on them, and had carved a path of destruction through Greenwich Village, until they finally were destroyed on Bleecker, and why did everything happen right beside their Shawarma place?

Things were calming down now, enough that Hulk had relinquished the group's scientist back to them, though he was currently changing clothes somewhere. He had taken to carrying his medical bag with him on missions and storing his glasses and a change of clothes in it. "Hey, does anyone want Shawarma, while we're here?"

"You're going to get fat on that stuff." Bruce commented, stumbling down the sidewalk as he tried to get his shoe all the way on his foot while simultaneously tucking in his shirt.

"Admiring my physique, Doc?"

"Looking out for Pepper." Bruce replied, balancing with a hand on the wall to pull the back of his shoe over his heel.

"We should run a sweep." Steve said, glancing around. "Doc, Tony, check for survivors. Clint, Natasha, head down MacDougal and make sure all the drones are down. Thor and I'll head down Mercer and we'll meet in Washington Park."

"Who died and made you leader?" Tony asked, flipping his visor back down over his face.

"Come on, Tony. Someone's gonna need help." Bruce said, adjusting the strap over his shoulder. They got as far as Thompson when they heard crying. "That's my cue." Bruce turned down the street, looking around for signs of life. The crying grew louder, but he couldn't see anyone. With a muttered curse, he pulled his glasses out and set them on his nose. Down near the next block, someone was moving. Bruce sped up, then stopped abruptly. A little girl was kneeling beside a woman's body, shaking her arm.

"Mama! Mama, you gotta get up!"

Bruce approached with trepidation. It was clear the woman was dead: blood matted her hair and her eyes were open and glassy, staring blindly at the sky. "Jesus..." That was Tony, just behind him.

"She won't get up." Bruce said quietly, kneeling beside the girl. She looked up at him with watery green eyes and a trembling lip. "What's your name?"

"Rebecca Mariner..."

"That's a pretty name. I'm Dr. Bruce. How old are you, Rebecca?"

"F... Four and a half." She said quietly. "Why won't Momma get up, Dr. Bruce?"

Jesus, why did explaining this never get any easier? "She... She can't, Rebecca."

"Why not?"

"Because... She... Your mom... she hit her head, really hard. She's never going to get up."

"She has to." The child said matter-of-factly. "She promised to take me for ice cream if I was good, and I was."

Bruce bit down hard on his lip. "Your mom can't get up, Rebecca. She passed away."

"What's passed away?"

"She's dead."

He was surprised when she launched herself at him and pounded tiny fists against his chest. "_You're lying! She's not dead! She isn't!"_

"I'm sorry." She was abruptly sobbing, clutching his shirt and burying her face in his shoulder. He hugged her, letting her soak his shirt, stroking the dark hair tickling his jaw. He glanced at Tony, who had his visor up and was staring at the doctor with something akin to shock. "Check for survivors. Take my bag."

"You sure? You have this?"

"I can handle it, Tony. Go. I'll meet you guys back at the Tower later, okay?"

"Alright."

Two hours later, once everyone was home and showered, the team gathered around the table in the lounge. "You shoulda seen it." Tony said, pointing his fork at Natasha. "He went all 'Daddy Banner,' hugging this _kid. _I've never seen Bruce like that."_  
_

"I wouldn't expect _Bruce_ of all people to be good with children." Clint commented, sipping his coffee.

"_I_ didn't expect that you guys would start eating without me." Bruce said from the doorway. The team turned to look at him. With one hand, he was holding a finger to his lips. The other hand was supporting the child sleeping on his shoulder.

"The Hell, Banner? I didn't peg you for the kind of guy who brought strays home."

"She's not a stray, she's a child. What would you have me do? Leave her lying in the street beside her dead mother?" Bruce asked softly, carefully laying Rebecca down on the couch. He pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch and laid it over her.

"I don't care what you do. Just don't bring her _here_!"

"I already did." Bruce replied. "And she's staying here. At least until she wakes up, and then I'll take her home. She just needs to sleep it off for awhile."

"Sounds like a good idea." Natasha said, standing. Bruce grabbed a book off the shelf at random. It was about quantum mechanics, and he put his reading glasses, wondering if he had the time to become an expert before Rebecca woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I've gotten some positive feedback here, and I love it. I crave more. I love the idea of Bruce being great with kids. He's definitely got a softer side, and I really want to explore it. I also want to explore him dealing with his issues because of changing circumstances, but make no mistake: I don't like writing happy stories. I like putting my (Marvel's) characters through the ringer fifteen times and then and ONLY then do I give them a happy ending. Maybe. Reviews. Writers love reviews.**

_You're so cold  
Keep your hand in mine  
Wise men wonder while strong men die_

He was startled out of the nap he hadn't intended to take by a shrill scream. He looked around the room with a wild gaze and saw her, the child sitting on the couch, a blanket clutched to her chest. _Rebecca._

He forced the encroaching monster down with an enormous effort of will. "Rebecca, it's me. Dr. Bruce, remember?" He stood with exaggerated care, approaching the girl as though she was a wild animal deciding whether or not to bolt. "You're safe here, okay?"

"Mama. Where's Mama?"

"She's gone, Rebecca. I know that's hard, but she's gone. There was an accident today, remember?"

Rebecca nodded, tears in her eyes. "Mama's dead."

Bruce knelt beside the couch. "You're safe here. You know that, right?"

She stared at him solemnly. "Mama said strangers are dangerous."

"What did she say about superheroes?" That was Steve, clearly alerted by her scream.

Rebecca's gaze cut to him, and her grip on the blanket tightened. Bruce laid a comforting hand on her knee. "He's a friend, Rebecca. One of the good guys. You know who Captain America is, don't you?" She nodded, and before he could elaborate, things got crazy.

"Banner, what the hell is going on in here?" Tony demanded, rubbing his face tiredly.

Rebecca yelped in fear and Bruce clamped down on his temper. "Do you _have_ to burst in here, Tony?"

Clint and Natasha were next to appear, followed closely by Thor, hammer in hand. Rebecca was curled up against the couch, making her already tiny frame even smaller, her eyes forced shut against the scared tears that escaped. "It's _my_ Tower!" Tony snapped.

"Tony, she's _terrified_." Steve said, pointing to the kid.

"Hey, _I_ didn't tell Bruce to bring her here."

"What other choice was there?" That was Thor, brandishing his hammer.

"_Quiet_, all of you!" Bruce warned. "Rebecca, look at me please."

She shook her head, and he squeezed her knee. "I told you. You're safe. This is Avengers Tower. There's nowhere that's safer." She opened her eyes, staring at him mutely. He pointed to Steve. "That's Captain America. See? The loud guy with the bad language is Mr. Stark. Ironman. There's Thor, and those two are Black Widow and Hawkeye. You're protected by superheroes."

She looked around the room, with awe this time instead of fear. Then her brow furrowed. "Where's the green man?"

Tony pointed to Bruce. "He's the green guy."

She shook her head, looking at Bruce. "No. The green man is bigger. Plus, he's _green_. You aren't green, Dr. Bruce."

"No," he agreed, "I'm not. But I can be. The green man stays inside my head unless I need him. He's really big and strong, and he breaks a lot of stuff, and he can be a little scary, don't you think? Besides, can you imagine how many people would stare at him if he were walking down the streets?"

She giggled at the image. "But he's a good guy. Good guys aren't scary."

"He is when he's angry." Natasha said emphatically.

Rebecca looked at her. "Like my daddy? He's scary when he get angry too. When he comes home from his job. The second one, at the bar."

There was a beat of silence where her words sank in. Bruce frowned. "A bar?"

She nodded. "That's why he comes home so late. I don't think he likes that job though. Mama tells me to stay in my room, but I hear him yell a lot and break stuff. Is the green man like that?"

_Yes_. "Only to the bad guys." He looked her over with a fresh gaze. She was dirty, covered with scrapes and bruises, and he had assumed that it had come from the fighting today, but some of the cuts were almost healed, the bruises yellow around the edges. Old wounds. "What does your mama do when he comes home late like that?"

"He's so mad, and I think Mama gets sad about it. She comes in my room and hugs me, and sometimes she cries 'cause she's so sad." She fiddled with a loose string on the blanket, rolling it between her fingers. "Sometimes Daddy comes in my room too."

"What happens when he does?" Bruce pressed. Rebecca looked down, chewing her lip. "You can tell me, Rebecca. I'm a good guy, remember?"

"He… He gets madder. He hits Mama and me." She looked at him. "Dr. Bruce, your eyes changed colors. Do you need the green man?"

"No, Rebecca. I'm angry." Bruce replied softly. "Is your dad nice, when he isn't mad?"

"He's always mad. He calls Mama bad words and tells her she's stupid. He's not nice ever. Why are you angry?"

"Because your dad is mean, and I don't like mean people." He stood. "Do you know where your dad is now?"

"Probably at home."

"Where is that?"

"69 5th Ave, 18A."

"Steve, watch her." Bruce strode to the door.

"Bruce, this is a bad idea."

Bruce glanced over his shoulder, glaring at the team with poisonous green eyes. "Stop me."

_Show me how it ends,  
It's alright.  
Show me how defenseless you really are._

Detective Calleo looked up as two men entered. He recognized one. The other was short, but broad-shouldered, with bloodshot eyes and a few days' worth of growth on his jaw. "Banner."

"Detective. This is Dan Mariner. He's got a confession for you." Banner threw the man forward with strength that was just a _little_ bit inhuman. Calleo crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

Mariner shot a glare back at Bruce. "I don't know what he's talking about."

Bruce's hands curled into fists, his jaw set, and with a long, slow breath, he got himself under control. "Worthless bastard. I've got a four year old back at the Tower telling me about how Daddy comes home drunk and beats up on her and Mom."

"Does he now?" Calleo gestured to two of his men, who moved forward, cuffing Mariner and dragging the livid man off. "What are you going to do with the kid and her mom?"

"Her mom died in the fighting today. She's staying with us tonight. I'll take her to Social Services in the morning."

"You're filling up my jails with this type, Bruce."

"There are a lot of people who belong in them, Brady." Bruce replied, shrugging. "Work at a clinic, you see the victims of monsters like this. Someone has to notice."

"First time you picked up a charity case, though."

"Didn't have a choice. Kid needs someone."

"Yeah…" Brady nodded. "Hey, thanks for… what you did. For my son, I mean."

Bruce laughed. "First person I ever met who wanted my autograph. He's a good kid."

"Yeah. Take care, Banner."

"You too."


End file.
